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176 rana./. t .'. .. . THE MANHATTAN BEACH RY. GETS A FACE LIFTING t: *. · .IL . f;•... . F ..A., r..*=•. 4 3.9' :. . -1Lr * -' . 0'.9 4. 12% Chapter 7-Getting Into the Groove with a River, a Mill, a Swampy Swamp, a Few Culverts ... and a Waterfall That '<Flows" Without Water. pig before you fasten it down...we were well aware that getting a spike started was just as hard as nailing it home...we wholeheartedly agreed that banking curves called for a nicety of precision... but we weren't cognizant of the fact that the law of averages insists upon your smacking a thumb, skinning a knuckle or pinch- r•HERE: are a thousand and one little devils ing a finger on about every twenty-eighth spike. 1 lurking in the dark corners of basements and And to make matters worse, we stubbornly hung attics, each with a particular mission in life with onto the idea of driving four spikes to every tie. which to annoy the average model rail. And Nuts? It was simply scandalous! without a doubt the most vicious and most per- Laying track can not only be a painful, horri- sistent one of them all is the devil who is in bly dull task, but it doesn't even make for intercharge,of the Minor Accident Department. esting reading. So the sooner I skip over these He's the slant-eyed little fellow who proudly bitter hours-with the exception, might I point sees to it that, no matter what your chore on the out, of a neat piece of work that Ernie conjured ' layout may be at any particular moment, you up on one of my "nights off"-the better it is for will always come out on the losing end. Ernie all concerned. Of the many problems which and I have had our casualties in the past: aching leered at us from around corners, one of the backs, sprained wrists, sore thumbs, cuts, worst was that of bridging an 8 ft. span over the bruises, and the like. But I'm referring now to wash tubs. A bridge that long, of course, was laying track. We just went through several hun- simply out of the question. We didn't want to dred feet of it and, frankly, I think the Red Cross build a double bascule lift because it was in a would do well to use us in some of its advertise- spot where it could easily be knocked or damments. There was hardly a finger on our hands aged, and we had already snorted "thumbs that wasn't smothered in tape plaster-and the down" to the idea of a take-out section. high-water mark was reached when I was laid up for three days with my arm in a sling. "How's tricks tonight?" I greeted Ernie as I stamped down the stairs to the basement. I will say we approached the track laying job When he looked up from the workbench with with our ears and eyes wide open. Past experi- sort of a cat-caught-the-canary grin I knew I ences of our friends had taught us that one was in for a surprise.. He always smirks that way simply doesn't lay a length of track, smack a half when something's up. Taking me around to the dozen spikes and call it quits as quickly as that. other side of the hot air furnace (I still say it's We suspected that a rail can shift like a greased the biggest darn thing I ever saw), he pointed to (Copyright 1942 by George Alien.) .,. '. , ......., " . .7.. .. : ......« . t. . . 11 A . 1.. 1 / . ....1 ..arri'.i... . ..7 %3. r - I.. .*f .:St..3,=., t...., i.;..El... :111(...'1 :' . ........- '.*:.." . r .... I .;.,,:, "-'=.491 .:'1• . :67*. :.1 .. I . . :042'P•THE MODEL RAILROADER